Systems, Methods, Apparatus, and Articles of Manufacture to Provide Automatic Wireless Configuration

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture to provide automated configuration of local playback devices and networks based on external input are disclosed. An example media playback device includes a control interface to receive and process, at the media playback device, network configuration information for a local network from an external source, the control interface to receive and process the network configuration from the external source without requiring user intervention. The example media playback device includes a wireless interface to communicate with the local network based at least in part on the network configuration information. The example media playback device includes a speaker to output audio based on audio information received via the local network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 to, and is acontinuation of, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/882,764 filed onJan. 29, 2018, entitled “Systems, Methods, Apparatus, and Articles ofManufacture to Provide Automatic Wireless Configuration”, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/531,712 filed onJun. 25, 2012, entitled “Systems, Methods, Apparatus, and Articles ofManufacture to Provide Automatic Wireless Configuration”, the contentsof each of which are hereby incorporated by reference in its entiretyfor all purposes.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is related to consumer goods and, more particularly, tosystems, products, features, services, and other items directed to mediaplayback or some aspect thereof.

BACKGROUND

Technological advancements have increased the accessibility of musiccontent, as well as other types of media, such as television content,movies, and interactive content. For example, a user can access audio,video, or both audio and video content over the Internet through anonline store, an Internet radio station, a music service, a movieservice, and so on, in addition to the more traditional avenues ofaccessing audio and video content. Demand for audio, video, and bothaudio and video content inside and outside of the home continues toincrease.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features, aspects, and advantages of the presently disclosed technologyare better understood with regard to the following description, appendedclaims, and accompanying drawings where:

FIG. 1 shows an illustration of an example system in which embodimentsof the methods and apparatus disclosed herein can be implemented;

FIG. 2A shows an illustration of an example zone player having abuilt-in amplifier and speakers;

FIG. 2B shows an illustration of an example zone player having abuilt-in amplifier and connected to external speakers;

FIG. 2C shows an illustration of an example zone player connected to anA/V receiver and speakers;

FIG. 3 shows an illustration of an example controller;

FIG. 4 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example zoneplayer;

FIG. 5 shows an internal functional block diagram of an examplecontroller;

FIG. 6 depicts an example playback network including one or moreplayback devices communicating with an external system to retrieveand/or receive one or more configuration parameters.

FIG. 7 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example zoneplayer to receive location-based wireless parameter information from anexternal source.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example system including a plurality of networksincluding a cloud-based network and one or more local playback networks.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an example method to determine a locationof a device and establish location-based setting(s) for the device.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of a more specific example method todetermine region settings and reconfigure a device appropriately.

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of an example method to collect data tosend to a cloud server to determine wireless network settings.

In addition, the drawings are for the purpose of illustrating exampleembodiments, but it is understood that the present disclosure is notlimited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION I. Overview

Media presentation systems include presentation devices, such asdisplays and/or speakers, to receive content and to generate one or moreoutputs using the received content. Presentation devices can receivesignals representative of the content in a plurality of manners usingdifferent techniques and/or technology. In some examples, audio contentsuch as music or the audio portion of audio/video content is encodedonto a carrier signal that is then wirelessly transmitted from one ormore sources to one or more wireless playback devices or speakers.

Example systems, methods, apparatus, and articles of manufacturedisclosed herein provide for automatic wireless configuration ofpresentation or playback devices (e.g., via a cloud-based server) toenable delivery and playback of audio. Example systems, methods,apparatus, and articles of manufacture disclosed herein may beadvantageously used to provide improved wireless configuration andplayback of media content (e.g., audio and/or video) in a networkenvironment.

For purposes of example illustration in the present description, theterms “spectrum” or “wireless spectrum” refer to a range of wirelesscommunications frequencies, where different spectra refer to differentranges of wireless frequencies. Different spectra may or may notoverlap. Different spectra may or may not be contiguous (i.e., may ormay not have spectra between them). In some examples disclosed herein,the term spectrum refers to a regulatory spectrum as defined by aregulatory agency such as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) inthe United States. For example, the FCC has allocated the “2.4 GHzspectrum” (or spectral band) to include the frequency range of 2400 MHzto 2500 MHz for Industrial, Scientific, and Medical applications.Additionally, the FCC has allocated the “5 GHz spectrum” (or spectralband) to include the frequency range of about 5.17 GHz to about 5.835GHz, with some excepted bands within that range.

For purposes of example illustration in the present description, theterms “channel,” “audio channel,” “control channel,” and/or, moregenerally, “wireless channel,” refer to a distinct frequency or distinctsub-range(s) of frequencies within one or more spectra that may be usedto transmit information. A channel may be a band of frequencies, anon-contiguous set of frequencies and bands, a frequency hoppingconfiguration, time division multiplexing, code division multiplexing,and/or any other type of communication frequency arrangement.

Wireless networking systems operate in the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequencybands of the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) spectrum reservedfor industrial or purposes other than communications, for example, suchas short-range, low-power communications and/or computing systems.Wireless systems operate according to one or more standards and/orprotocols for communication in one or more frequency bands (e.g., 2.4GHz, 3.6 GHz, 5 GHz, and so on), for example. IEEE 802.11 is a set ofstandards to implement wireless local area network communication in the2.4 and 5 GHz frequency bands, for example. A wireless networking systemin such a band has configurable parameters that help define performanceof the network and associated system. Such parameters include, forexample, wireless channel selection, bit rate (or “bitrate”) andencoding used, transmit power, and so on.

For example, the 2.4 GHz frequency band is divided into fourteen (14)channels, each 5 MHz wide, for direct sequence (DS) transmission. Adevice with a single transceiver can only communicate over one of thesechannels at a time. If a device has multiple transceivers, then it cancommunicate over multiple channels simultaneously. A media playbacksystem, such as a Sonos playback system, including multiple playbackdevices, each with a single transceiver, must use the same wirelesschannel across the entire system. Furthermore, some of these parametersare restricted by regulatory requirements that differ depending on ageographic region in which the wireless equipment is being operated.

Currently, systems can determine wireless network parameters based onsimple heuristics and provide a mechanism for users to manually changethe parameters, usually after they struggle with network problems oreven after calling Customer Support. With a system view of the network,customer support engineers may be able to manually reconfigure thenetwork parameters to fix problems.

However, it is very hard for a device in a wireless network, such as amesh network, to determine system parameters by itself and adjustparameters automatically. For example, when selecting a wireless channelin a household several difficulties may present themselves. A bestchannel in one area of the home may not be the best channel in anotherarea of the home, for example. A best channel at one time of day may notbe the best at another time of day, for example. Additionally, it isdifficult for a zone player to change its channel to assess anotherchannel while it is currently operating (e.g., playing music). That is,the zone player must be “on channel” to operate properly, but the playeralso must to switch to another channel to assess that alternate channel,for example.

Some network access points address this specific channel selectionproblem using one or more Automatic Channel Selection (ACS) algorithms.Automatic Channel Selection algorithms and implementations are used toenable interfaces to determine which channel configuration to use forinitiating communication, for a mode of operation that initiatesradiation (e.g., access point (AP), mesh, independent basic service set(IBSS) ad hoc network, peer-to-peer (P2P) communication, and so on).However, in this simpler scenario, the network access point makes thejudgment itself; there is no mesh of access points across the home thathas to switch simultaneously.

In addition to setting wireless network parameters to improveperformance, wireless based systems may be subject to differentregulatory requirements depending on a geographic region in which theyoperate. For example, the United States is governed by FederalCommunications Commission (FCC) regulations and has different regulatoryrequirements than European countries that follow EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) standards; similarly,Japan and China each have their own regulatory requirements, forexample.

Regulatory requirements also affect wireless network parameters. Forexample, with the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz frequency bands used in 802.11a/b/g/n, there are region-specific requirements on channels (e.g.,frequencies) that may be used, signal output power that is used, andtime a channel can be occupied. The regulatory requirements are governedby local laws for which the products are used. However, most productsrely on manually setting these parameters (1) at a factory or regionaldistribution center prior to shipping into a region or to a customer;(2) at a customer location by asking the customer to select an operatingregion or inferring the operating region by asking a series ofquestions; or (3) using a least common denominator among all regions toset the parameters. These methods can be cumbersome or unnecessarilylimiting in performance, or even open to customer abuse. For example,systems that have their region settings selected at the factory cannotbe easily be redistributed to different regions without reconfiguringthe settings, which often requires opening up the product packaging,powering up the system, logging into the system with certainadministrator-level access, and changing the region settings.Furthermore, if a unit is sold in a specific country/region, and latermoved to a different country/region by the customer, the customer mayend up operating the product in violation of local laws; this may happenunintentionally if the user is unfamiliar with the local laws governingwireless transmission. Note that some countries do not allow thecustomer to select the region settings for fear the customer may ‘gamethe system’ by selecting an alternate region that is more permissiblethan the current region.

Certain embodiments help overcome some or all of the above challenges byautomatically configuring wireless network parameters using, forexample, a cloud-based server. Certain embodiments facilitate automatedlocation determination and/or network performance data gathering withoutrequiring user intervention. Certain embodiments facilitate interactionwith an external source to identify a location of a media playbackdevice and/or determine appropriate parameters for device and/or localwireless network configuration, etc.

Although the following discloses example systems, methods, apparatus,and articles of manufacture including, among other components, firmwareand/or software executed on hardware, it should be noted that suchsystems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture are merelyillustrative and should not be considered as limiting.

II. An Example Operating Environment

Referring now to the drawings, in which like numerals can refer to likeparts throughout the figures, FIG. 1 shows an example system 100 inwhich one or more embodiments disclosed herein can be practiced orimplemented.

By way of illustration, system 100 represents a home presentlyconfigured with multiple zones, though the home could have beenconfigured with only one zone. Each zone in the home, for example, mayrepresent a different room or space, such as an office, bathroom,bedroom, kitchen, dining room, family room, home theater room, utilityor laundry room, and patio. A single zone might also include multiplerooms if so configured. One or more of zone players 102-124 are shown ineach respective zone of the home. A zone player 102-124, also referredto as a playback device, multimedia unit, speaker, player, and so on,provides audio, video, and/or audiovisual output. Controller 130provides control to system 100. Controller 130 may be fixed to a zone,or alternatively, mobile such that it can be moved about the zones.System 100 may also include more than one controller 130. System 100illustrates an example whole house audio system, though it is understoodthat the technology described herein is not limited to its particularplace of application or to an expansive system like a whole house audiosystem 100 of FIG. 1.

a. Example Zone Players

FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C show example types of zone players. Zone players200, 202, and 204 of FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C, respectively, can correspondto any of the zone players 102-124 of FIG. 1, for example. In someembodiments, audio is reproduced using only a single zone player, suchas by a full-range player. In some embodiments, audio is reproducedusing two or more zone players, such as by using a combination offull-range players or a combination of full-range and specializedplayers. In some embodiments, zone players 200-204 may also be referredto as a “smart speaker,” because they contain processing capabilitiesbeyond the reproduction of audio, more of which is described below.

FIG. 2A illustrates zone player 200 that includes sound producingequipment 208 capable of reproducing full-range sound. The sound maycome from an audio signal that is received and processed by zone player200 over a wired or wireless data network. Sound producing equipment 208includes one or more built-in amplifiers and one or more speakers. Abuilt-in amplifier is described more below with respect to FIG. 4. Aspeaker or acoustic transducer can include, for example, any of atweeter, a mid-range driver, a low-range driver, and a subwoofer. Insome embodiments, zone player 200 can be statically or dynamicallyconfigured to play stereophonic audio, monaural audio, or both. In someembodiments, zone player 200 is configured to reproduce a subset offull-range sound, such as when zone player 200 is grouped with otherzone players to play stereophonic audio, monaural audio, and/or surroundaudio or when the audio content received by zone player 200 is less thanfull-range.

FIG. 2B illustrates zone player 202 that includes a built-in amplifierto power a set of detached speakers 210. A detached speaker can include,for example, any type of loudspeaker. Zone player 202 may be configuredto power one, two, or more separate loudspeakers. Zone player 202 may beconfigured to communicate an audio signal (e.g., right and left channelaudio or more channels depending on its configuration) to the detachedspeakers 210 via a wired path.

FIG. 2C illustrates zone player 204 that does not include a built-inamplifier, but is configured to communicate an audio signal, receivedover a data network, to an audio (or “audio/video”) receiver 214 withbuilt-in amplification.

Referring back to FIG. 1, in some embodiments, one, some, or all of thezone players 102 to 124 can retrieve audio directly from a source. Forexample, a zone player may contain a playlist or queue of audio items tobe played (also referred to herein as a “playback queue”). Each item inthe queue may comprise a uniform resource identifier (URI) or some otheridentifier. The URI or identifier can point the zone player to the audiosource. The source might be found on the Internet (e.g., the cloud),locally from another device over data network 128, the controller 130,stored on the zone player itself, or from an audio source communicatingdirectly to the zone player. In some embodiments, the zone player canreproduce the audio itself, send it to another zone player forreproduction, or both where the audio is played by the zone player andone or more additional zone players in synchrony. In some embodiments,the zone player can play a first audio content (or not play at all),while sending a second, different audio content to another zoneplayer(s) for reproduction.

By way of illustration, SONOS, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif. presentlyoffers for sale zone players referred to as a “PLAY:5,” “PLAY:3,”“CONNECT:AMP,” “CONNECT,” and “SUB.” Any other past, present, and/orfuture zone players can additionally or alternatively be used toimplement the zone players of example embodiments disclosed herein.Additionally, it is understood that a zone player is not limited to theparticular examples illustrated in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C or to the SONOSproduct offerings. For example, a zone player may include a wired orwireless headphone. In yet another example, a zone player might includea sound bar for television. In yet another example, a zone player caninclude or interact with a docking station for an Apple IPOD™ or similardevice.

b. Example Controllers

FIG. 3 illustrates an example wireless controller 300 in docking station302. By way of illustration, controller 300 can correspond tocontrolling device 130 of FIG. 1. Docking station 302, if provided, maybe used to charge a battery of controller 300. In some embodiments,controller 300 is provided with a touch screen 304 that allows a user tointeract through touch with the controller 300, for example, to retrieveand navigate a playlist of audio items, control operations of one ormore zone players, and provide overall control of the systemconfiguration 100. In certain embodiments, any number of controllers canbe used to control the system configuration 100. In some embodiments,there can be a limit set on the number of controllers that can controlthe system configuration 100. The controllers might be wireless likewireless controller 300 or wired to data network 128.

In some embodiments, if more than one controller is used in system 100,then each controller may be coordinated to display common content, andmay all be dynamically updated to indicate changes made from a singlecontroller. Coordination can occur, for instance, by a controllerperiodically requesting a state variable directly or indirectly from oneor more zone players; the state variable may provide information aboutsystem 100, such as current zone group configuration, what is playing inone or more zones, volume levels, and other items of interest. The statevariable may be passed around on data network 128 between zone players(and controllers, if so desired) as needed or as often as programmed.

In addition, an application running on any network-enabled portabledevice, such as an IPHONE™, IPAD™, ANDROID™ powered phone, or any othersmart phone or network-enabled device can be used as controller 130. Anapplication running on a laptop or desktop personal computer (PC) orMAC™ can also be used as controller 130. Such controllers may connect tosystem 100 through an interface with data network 128, a zone player, awireless router, or using some other configured connection path. Examplecontrollers offered by SONOS, Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif. include a“Controller 200,” “SONOS® Control,” “SONOS® Controller for IPHONE™,”“SONOS® Controller for IPAD™,” “SONOS® Controller for ANDROID™, “SONOS®Controller for MAC or PC.”

c. Example Data Connection

Zone players 102 to 124 of FIG. 1 are coupled directly or indirectly toa data network, such as data network 128. Controller 130 may also becoupled directly or indirectly to data network 128 or individual zoneplayers. Data network 128 is represented by an octagon in the figure tostand out from other representative components. While data network 128is shown in a single location, it is understood that such a network isdistributed in and around system 100. Particularly, data network 128 canbe a wired network, a wireless network, or a combination of both wiredand wireless networks. In some embodiments, one or more of the zoneplayers 102-124 are wirelessly coupled to data network 128 based on aproprietary mesh network. In some embodiments, one or more of the zoneplayers 102-124 are wirelessly coupled to data network 128 using anon-mesh topology. In some embodiments, one or more of the zone players102-124 are coupled via a wire to data network 128 using Ethernet orsimilar technology. In addition to the one or more zone players 102-124connecting to data network 128, data network 128 can further allowaccess to a wide area network, such as the Internet.

In some embodiments, connecting any of the zone players 102-124, or someother connecting device, to a broadband router, can create data network128. Other zone players 102-124 can then be added wired or wirelessly tothe data network 128. For example, a zone player (e.g., any of zoneplayers 102-124) can be added to the system configuration 100 by simplypressing a button on the zone player itself (or perform some otheraction), which enables a connection to be made to data network 128. Thebroadband router can be connected to an Internet Service Provider (ISP),for example. The broadband router can be used to form another datanetwork within the system configuration 100, which can be used in otherapplications (e.g., web surfing). Data network 128 can also be used inother applications, if so programmed. An example, second network mayimplement SonosNet protocol, developed by SONOS, Inc. of Santa Barbara.SonosNet represents a secure, AES-encrypted, peer-to-peer wireless meshnetwork. Alternatively, in certain embodiments, the data network 128 isthe same network, such as a traditional wired or wireless network, usedfor other applications in the household.

d. Example Zone Configurations

A particular zone can contain one or more zone players. For example, thefamily room of FIG. 1 contains two zone players 106 and 108, while thekitchen is shown with one zone player 102. In another example, the hometheater room contains additional zone players to play audio from a 5.1channel or greater audio source (e.g., a movie encoded with 5.1 orgreater audio channels). In some embodiments, one can position a zoneplayer in a room or space and assign the zone player to a new orexisting zone via controller 130. As such, zones may be created,combined with another zone, removed, and given a specific name (e.g.,“Kitchen”), if so desired and programmed to do so with controller 130.Moreover, in some embodiments, zone configurations may be dynamicallychanged even after being configured using controller 130 or some othermechanism.

In some embodiments, if a zone contains two or more zone players, suchas the two zone players 106 and 108 in the family room, then the twozone players 106 and 108 can be configured to play the same audio sourcein synchrony, or the two zone players 106 and 108 can be paired to playtwo separate sounds in left and right channels, for example. In otherwords, the stereo effects of a sound can be reproduced or enhancedthrough the two zone players 106 and 108, one for the left sound and theother for the right sound. In certain embodiments, paired zone players(also referred to as “bonded zone players”) can play audio in synchronywith other zone players in the same or different zones.

In some embodiments, two or more zone players can be sonicallyconsolidated to form a single, consolidated zone player. A consolidatedzone player (though made up of multiple, separate devices) can beconfigured to process and reproduce sound differently than anunconsolidated zone player or zone players that are paired, because aconsolidated zone player will have additional speaker drivers from whichsound can be passed. The consolidated zone player can further be pairedwith a single zone player or yet another consolidated zone player. Eachplayback device of a consolidated playback device can be set in aconsolidated mode, for example.

According to some embodiments, one can continue to do any of: group,consolidate, and pair zone players, for example, until a desiredconfiguration is complete. The actions of grouping, consolidation, andpairing are preferably performed through a control interface, such asusing controller 130, and not by physically connecting and re-connectingspeaker wire, for example, to individual, discrete speakers to createdifferent configurations. As such, certain embodiments described hereinprovide a more flexible and dynamic platform through which soundreproduction can be offered to the end-user.

e. Example Audio Sources

In some embodiments, each zone can play from the same audio source asanother zone or each zone can play from a different audio source. Forexample, someone can be grilling on the patio and listening to jazzmusic via zone player 124, while someone is preparing food in thekitchen and listening to classical music via zone player 102. Further,someone can be in the office listening to the same jazz music via zoneplayer 110 that is playing on the patio via zone player 124. In someembodiments, the jazz music played via zone players 110 and 124 isplayed in synchrony. Synchronizing playback amongst zones allows forsomeone to pass through zones while seamlessly (or substantiallyseamlessly) listening to the audio. Further, zones can be put into a“party mode” such that all associated zones will play audio insynchrony.

Sources of audio content to be played by zone players 102-124 arenumerous. In some embodiments, music on a zone player itself may beaccessed and a played. In some embodiments, music from a personallibrary stored on a computer or networked-attached storage (NAS) may beaccessed via the data network 128 and played. In some embodiments,Internet radio stations, shows, and podcasts can be accessed via thedata network 128. Music or cloud services that let a user stream and/ordownload music and audio content can be accessed via the data network128. Further, music can be obtained from traditional sources, such as aturntable or CD player, via a line-in connection to a zone player, forexample. Audio content can also be accessed using a different protocol,such as AIRPLAY™, which is a wireless technology by Apple, Inc., forexample. Audio content received from one or more sources can be sharedamongst the zone players 102 to 124 via data network 128 and/orcontroller 130. The above-disclosed sources of audio content arereferred to herein as network-based audio information sources. However,network-based audio information sources are not limited thereto.

In some embodiments, the example home theater zone players 116, 118, 120are coupled to an audio information source such as a television 132. Insome examples, the television 132 is used as a source of audio for thehome theater zone players 116, 118, 120, while in other examples audioinformation from the television 132 can be shared with any of the zoneplayers 102-124 in the audio system 100.

III. Zone Players

Referring now to FIG. 4, there is shown an example block diagram of azone player 400 in accordance with an embodiment. Zone player 400includes a network interface 402, a processor 408, a memory 410, anaudio processing component 412, one or more modules 414, an audioamplifier 416, and a speaker unit 418 coupled to the audio amplifier416. FIG. 2A shows an example illustration of such a zone player. Othertypes of zone players may not include the speaker unit 418 (e.g., suchas shown in FIG. 2B) or the audio amplifier 416 (e.g., such as shown inFIG. 2C). Further, it is contemplated that the zone player 400 can beintegrated into another component. For example, the zone player 400could be constructed as part of a television, lighting, or some otherdevice for indoor or outdoor use.

In some embodiments, network interface 402 facilitates a data flowbetween zone player 400 and other devices on a data network 128. In someembodiments, in addition to getting audio from another zone player ordevice on data network 128, zone player 400 may access audio directlyfrom the audio source, such as over a wide area network or on the localnetwork. In some embodiments, the network interface 402 can furtherhandle the address part of each packet so that it gets to the rightdestination or intercepts packets destined for the zone player 400.Accordingly, in certain embodiments, each of the packets includes anInternet Protocol (IP)-based source address as well as an IP-baseddestination address.

In some embodiments, network interface 402 can include one or both of awireless interface 404 and a wired interface 406. The wireless interface404, also referred to as a radio frequency (RF) interface, providesnetwork interface functions for the zone player 400 to wirelesslycommunicate with other devices (e.g., other zone player(s), speaker(s),receiver(s), component(s) associated with the data network 128, and soon) in accordance with a communication protocol (e.g., any wirelessstandard including IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.15).Wireless interface 404 may include one or more radios. To receivewireless signals and to provide the wireless signals to the wirelessinterface 404 and to transmit wireless signals, the zone player 400includes one or more antennas 420. The wired interface 406 providesnetwork interface functions for the zone player 400 to communicate overa wire with other devices in accordance with a communication protocol(e.g., IEEE 802.3). In some embodiments, a zone player includes both ofthe interfaces 404 and 406. In some embodiments, a zone player 400includes only the wireless interface 404 or the wired interface 406.

In some embodiments, the processor 408 is a clock-driven electronicdevice that is configured to process input data according toinstructions stored in memory 410. The memory 410 is data storage thatcan be loaded with one or more software module(s) 414, which can beexecuted by the processor 408 to achieve certain tasks. In theillustrated embodiment, the memory 410 is a tangible machine-readablemedium storing instructions that can be executed by the processor 408.In some embodiments, a task might be for the zone player 400 to retrieveaudio data from another zone player or a device on a network (e.g.,using a uniform resource locator (URL) or some other identifier). Insome embodiments, a task may be for the zone player 400 to send audiodata to another zone player or device on a network. In some embodiments,a task may be for the zone player 400 to synchronize playback of audiowith one or more additional zone players. In some embodiments, a taskmay be to pair the zone player 400 with one or more zone players tocreate a multi-channel audio environment. Additional or alternativetasks can be achieved via the one or more software module(s) 414 and theprocessor 408.

The audio processing component 412 can include one or moredigital-to-analog converters (DAC), an audio preprocessing component, anaudio enhancement component or a digital signal processor, and so on. Insome embodiments, the audio processing component 412 may be part ofprocessor 408. In some embodiments, the audio that is retrieved via thenetwork interface 402 is processed and/or intentionally altered by theaudio processing component 412. Further, the audio processing component412 can produce analog audio signals. The processed analog audio signalsare then provided to the audio amplifier 416 for play back throughspeakers 418. In addition, the audio processing component 412 caninclude circuitry to process analog or digital signals as inputs to playfrom zone player 400, send to another zone player on a network, or bothplay and send to another zone player on the network. An example inputincludes a line-in connection (e.g., an auto-detecting 3.5 mm audioline-in connection).

The audio amplifier 416 is a device(s) that amplifies audio signals to alevel for driving one or more speakers 418. The one or more speakers 418can include an individual transducer (e.g., a “driver”) or a completespeaker system that includes an enclosure including one or more drivers.A particular driver can be a subwoofer (e.g., for low frequencies), amid-range driver (e.g., for middle frequencies), and a tweeter (e.g.,for high frequencies), for example. An enclosure can be sealed orported, for example. Each transducer may be driven by its own individualamplifier.

A commercial example, presently known as the PLAY:5, is a zone playerwith a built-in amplifier and speakers that is capable of retrievingaudio directly from the source, such as on the Internet or on the localnetwork, for example. In particular, the PLAY:5 is a five-amp,five-driver speaker system that includes two tweeters, two mid-rangedrivers, and one woofer. When playing audio content via the PLAY:5, theleft audio data of a track is sent out of the left tweeter and leftmid-range driver, the right audio data of a track is sent out of theright tweeter and the right mid-range driver, and mono bass is sent outof the subwoofer. Further, both mid-range drivers and both tweeters havethe same equalization (or substantially the same equalization). That is,they are both sent the same frequencies, but from different channels ofaudio. Audio from Internet radio stations, online music and videoservices, downloaded music, analog audio inputs, television, DVD, and soon, can be played from the PLAY:5.

IV. Controller

Referring now to FIG. 5, there is shown an example block diagram forcontroller 500, which can correspond to the controlling device 130 inFIG. 1. Controller 500 can be used to facilitate the control ofmulti-media applications, automation and others in a system. Inparticular, the controller 500 may be configured to facilitate aselection of a plurality of audio sources available on the network andenable control of one or more zone players (e.g., the zone players102-124 in FIG. 1) through a wireless or wired network interface 508.According to one embodiment, the wireless communications is based on anindustry standard (e.g., infrared, radio, wireless standard includingIEEE 802.11a, 802.11b 802.11g, 802.11n, or 802.15, and so on). Further,when a particular audio is being accessed via the controller 500 orbeing played via a zone player, a picture (e.g., album art) or any otherdata, associated with the audio and/or audio source can be transmittedfrom a zone player or other electronic device to controller 500 fordisplay.

Controller 500 is provided with a screen 502 and an input interface 514that allows a user to interact with the controller 500, for example, tonavigate a playlist of many multimedia items and to control operationsof one or more zone players. The screen 502 on the controller 500 can bean LCD screen, for example. The screen 500 communicates with and iscommanded by a screen driver 504 that is controlled by a microcontroller(e.g., a processor) 506. The memory 510 can be loaded with one or moreapplication modules 512 that can be executed by the microcontroller 506with or without a user input via the user interface 514 to achievecertain tasks. In some embodiments, an application module 512 isconfigured to facilitate grouping a number of selected zone players intoa zone group and synchronizing the zone players for audio play back. Insome embodiments, an application module 512 is configured to control theaudio sounds (e.g., volume) of the zone players in a zone group. Inoperation, when the microcontroller 506 executes one or more of theapplication modules 512, the screen driver 504 generates control signalsto drive the screen 502 to display an application specific userinterface accordingly.

The controller 500 includes a network interface 508 that facilitateswired or wireless communication with a zone player. In some embodiments,the commands such as volume control and audio playback synchronizationare sent via the network interface 508. In some embodiments, a savedzone group configuration is transmitted between a zone player and acontroller via the network interface 508. The controller 500 can controlone or more zone players, such as 102-124 of FIG. 1. There can be morethan one controller for a particular system, and each controller mayshare common information with another controller, or retrieve the commoninformation from a zone player, if such a zone player storesconfiguration data (e.g., such as a state variable). Further, acontroller can be integrated into a zone player.

It should be noted that other network-enabled devices such as anIPHONE®, IPAD® or any other smart phone or network-enabled device (e.g.,a networked computer such as a PC or MAC®) can also be used as acontroller to interact or control zone players in a particularenvironment. In some embodiments, a software application or upgrade canbe downloaded onto a network-enabled device to perform the functionsdescribed herein.

In certain embodiments, a user can create a zone group (also referred toas a bonded zone) including at least two zone players from thecontroller 500. The zone players in the zone group can play audio in asynchronized fashion, such that all of the zone players in the zonegroup play back an identical audio source or a list of identical audiosources in a synchronized manner such that no (or substantially no)audible delays or hiccups are to be heard. Similarly, in someembodiments, when a user increases the audio volume of the group fromthe controller 500, the signals or data of increasing the audio volumefor the group are sent to one of the zone players and causes other zoneplayers in the group to be increased together in volume.

A user via the controller 500 can group zone players into a zone groupby activating a “Link Zones” or “Add Zone” soft button, or de-grouping azone group by activating an “Unlink Zones” or “Drop Zone” button. Forexample, one mechanism for ‘joining’ zone players together for audioplay back is to link a number of zone players together to form a group.To link a number of zone players together, a user can manually link eachzone player or room one after the other. For example, assume that thereis a multi-zone system that includes the following zones: Bathroom,Bedroom, Den, Dining Room, Family Room, and Foyer.

In certain embodiments, a user can link any number of the six zoneplayers, for example, by starting with a single zone and then manuallylinking each zone to that zone.

In certain embodiments, a set of zones can be dynamically linkedtogether using a command to create a zone scene or theme (subsequent tofirst creating the zone scene). For instance, a “Morning” zone scenecommand can link the Bedroom, Office, and Kitchen zones together in oneaction. Without this single command, the user must manually andindividually link each zone. The single command may include a mouseclick, a double mouse click, a button press, a gesture, or some otherprogrammed action. Other kinds of zone scenes can be programmed.

In certain embodiments, a zone scene can be triggered based on time(e.g., an alarm clock function). For instance, a zone scene can be setto apply at 8:00 am. The system can link appropriate zonesautomatically, set specific music to play, and then stop the music aftera defined duration. Although any particular zone can be triggered to an“On” or “Off” state based on time, for example, a zone scene enables anyzone(s) linked to the scene to play a predefined audio (e.g., afavorable song, a predefined playlist) at a specific time and/or for aspecific duration. If, for any reason, the scheduled music failed to beplayed (e.g., an empty playlist, no connection to a share, failedUniversal Plug and Play (UPnP), no Internet connection for an InternetRadio station, and so on), a backup buzzer can be programmed to sound.The buzzer can include a sound file that is stored in a zone player, forexample.

V. Example Configuration Systems and Methods

Certain embodiments facilitate automatic configuration of a mediaplayback device (e.g., a zone player 400) with configuration parametersfor a local wireless playback network. Automated network parameterconfiguration may be facilitated using a cloud-based server and/or othernetwork server, for example.

FIG. 6 depicts an example playback network 605 including one or moreplayback devices (e.g., zone players 400) 611-612 communicating with anexternal system 620 to retrieve and/or receive (e.g., via push and/orpull) one or more configuration parameters related to networkconnection, operation, grouping (e.g., zone group configuration),content playback, and so on. The external system 620 may be and/orinclude a cloud-based server or other network-connected server device,for example. The external server 620 may interact with the local devices611, 612 to provide regional (e.g., geographic) configurationinformation, communication channel selection, and so on. The externalserver 620 and local playback devices 611, 612 may exchange parameterinformation without user intervention, for example. The playback devices611, 612 can then use the information to configure network parametersfor operation on the network 605, for example.

In one example, automated configuration of wireless network parameterscan be facilitated for the local devices 611, 612 based on regionallocation without user intervention. Regional location is determined, forexample, using input such as a global positioning device, cloud server,or another device on the local network. Wireless network parameter(s)can be provided by the cloud server (e.g., external system 620) oranother device on the local network, for example, based on locationinformation. Wireless parameter(s) can also be stored locally on thedevice for each region, and the proper settings applied once the regionis determined, for example.

In the example of FIG. 6, the wireless network includes a plurality ofdifferent networking devices such as multimedia devices (e.g., zoneplayer, wireless enabled television, etc.), wireless handheld devices(e.g., IPOD™, IPHONE™, IPAD™, etc.), access points, and network bridges.The wireless network may be a mesh network, access point network, etc.

In the example of FIG. 6, automatic configuration of wireless networkparameters is facilitated in a mesh network using a cloud server withoutuser intervention. The wireless network can include multiple differentnetworking devices such as multimedia devices (e.g., zone player,wireless enabled television, etc.), wireless handheld devices (e.g.,IPOD™, IPHONE™, IPAD™) access points, and network bridges. Network datais collected by playback devices 611, 612 and periodically sent to acloud server for analysis. Wireless network parameters that can beconfigured via the cloud server include wireless channel, bit-rate,transmit power, and so on. A wireless topology may also be reconfiguredvia the cloud server, for example.

In certain embodiments, for networks using a Spanning Tree protocol, aroot of the Spanning Tree may be re-assigned by the cloud server.

Certain embodiments facilitate configuration of wireless networkparameters using a cloud server but with remote, manual intervention.

FIG. 7 shows an internal functional block diagram of an example zoneplayer 700 to receive location-based wireless parameter information froman external source. The example zone player 700 of FIG. 7 may be used toimplement any of the example zone players 102-124 of FIG. 1, forexample. In some embodiments, the example zone player 700 may be used toimplement one of the home theater zone players 116, 118, 120 and mayinclude a sound bar. As used herein, a “sound bar” refers to a singleplayback device including an array of speakers configured to replicateaudio for video and to replicate audio in general. In some instances, asound bar may simulate or partially simulate a surround soundexperience.

Like the example zone player 400 of FIG. 4, the example zone player 700of FIG. 7 includes a processor 408, memory 410, an audio processingcomponent 412, a module 414, an audio amplifier 416, speakers 418, andone or more antenna(s) 420. These components are discussed in moredetail above. More or less components may be included depending on thedesired configuration. The example zone player 700 of FIG. 7 includes anetwork interface 702 having a wireless interface 404 to communicate viaa designated wireless spectrum (e.g., 2.4 GHz spectrum, 5 GHz spectrum,etc.) and a wired interface 406. The wireless interface 404 and wiredinterface 406 are discussed in further detail above. The example zoneplayer 700 may simultaneously or substantially simultaneouslycommunicate via any or all of the interfaces 404, 406.

The network interface 702 also includes a channel selector 704 toreceive a wireless channel selection (e.g., one of 14 channels in the2.4 GHz frequency band). The channel selection can be received via thewireless interface 404 and/or wired interface 406, for example. Thechannel selector 704 may be configured with a default channel selection(e.g., a factory-set default), for example, which may be changedaccording to a received and/or otherwise determined channel selection. Achannel setting may be based on location (e.g., region, household,etc.), for example. As disclosed further below, the channel setting isused for communication via the wireless interface 404, for example.

Each of the example interfaces 404, 406 of FIG. 7 may have a uniqueidentifier such as a unique Media Access Control (MAC) address. Thus,each of the example interfaces 404, 406 may be addressed separately, andthe example zone player 700 may communicate using any or all of theinterfaces 404, 406 simultaneously if so desired.

The example zone player 700 of FIG. 7 further includes a controlinterface 706 and an audio interface 708. The control interface 706transmits and/or receives control information (e.g., configurationinformation) via one or both of the interfaces 404, 406. For example,the control interface 706 may communicate configuration information toone or more other zone players and/or communicate configurationinformation to one or more other zone players via interface(s) 404, 406.In some examples, the control interface 706 receives configurationinformation (e.g., wireless channel selection, bit rate, encoding,transmit power, location, etc.) via the interface(s), 404, 406 fromother zone players. The example control interface 706 additionally oralternatively communicates control information (e.g., channel probes,location queries, bit rate information, encoding information, etc.) toanother zone player, a network (e.g., cloud-based) server, etc., via theinterface(s) 404, 406, for example.

The example audio interface 708 of FIG. 7 transmits audio informationand/or receives audio information via the interfaces 404, 406. Forexample, the audio interface 708 may receive digital audio informationfrom an Internet source, from a local networked source (e.g., a computervia a local area network or LAN), and/or from another home theatercomponent such as a television, a cable box, an optical media player(DVD, Blu-ray disc, etc.), a digital media player, a video game console,and/or any other type of audio source. The example audio interface 708further transmits received audio information to one or more zoneplayers, including standard zone players (e.g., via line-out connectionsuch as RCA or optical output, or via a mesh network via interface 404and/or interface 406. In some examples, the audio interface 708transmits the audio information based on control information provided bythe control interface 706.

To control which channel(s) are used, the example network interface 702includes channel selector 704. The example channel selector 704 selectschannel(s) in a spectrum (e.g., 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz, etc.). The examplewireless interface 404 transmits and/or receives information via theselected channel. In some examples, the channel is selected by adifferent device (e.g., an external device such as another zone player,cloud-based server, etc.), and the channel selector 704 is provided withthe channel information via interface 404, 406.

In some examples, the currently selected channel may become unsuitablefor media content (e.g., audio) playback, and another, more suitablechannel is available. The example channel selector 704 may select a newchannel and provide the channel information to the control interface706, for example. The example channel selector 704 then causes thewireless interface 404 to change to the new selected channel. The audiointerface 708 may then continue to transmit audio information on the newselected channel. In some examples, the new channel information may bepassed along to another connected zone player, reported back to acloud-based server, etc.

In an example of operation, the control interface 706 initially (e.g.,on start up, on adding a zone player to a zone player network, etc.)communicates with an external device (e.g., a connected zone player, acloud-based server, etc.) via interface 404, 406. The control interface706 transmits control information and/or requests an update of controlinformation via a default or last-known channel and/or other wirelesssetting, for example. The example control information includes at leasta selected channel and an identifier of the zone player 700 (e.g., todifferentiate the zone player 700 from any other zone players that maybe on the same network), for example. After transmitting the controlinformation (and, in some embodiments, receiving acknowledgement fromthe external device), the example control interface 706 may receivefeedback, such as updated control information, via interface 404, 406.If appropriate, the control interface 706 facilitates an update or otherchange of zone player 700 parameters, such as via channel selector 704,based on the updated information received from the external device.

Continuing with the example, if the selected channel becomes inadequate(e.g., too much interference, too much latency, the zone player ismoved, etc.), the example control interface 706 may request updatedinformation from an available external device (e.g., another connectedzone player, cloud-based server, etc.). In certain embodiments, thechannel selector 704 selects a different channel and transmits controlinformation to other zone players on the same local network identifyingthe newly selected channel.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example system 800 including a plurality ofnetworks including a cloud-based network and one or more local playbacknetworks. The system 800 includes a cloud or other network 805connecting a plurality of local networks (e.g., LANs) and/or externalsystems for communication and data exchange, for example. The examplesystem 800 includes local networks 810, 820. Each local network 810 ,820includes a plurality of media playback devices 811-813, 821-823, as wellas a controller 814, 824-825, for example. Local media content 816, 826is stored and provided for playback via the local area network 810, 820,for example.

The example system 800 of FIG. 8 also includes additional playbackdevice(s) 831, not associated with a local network. The example system800 further includes one or more external systems including mediacontent 840, a remote cloud server 850, remote application(s) 860, acontent provider 870, and so on.

One or more playback devices 811-813, 821-823, 831 and/or controllers814, 824-825 can retrieve network and/or other configuration information(e.g., wireless mesh network configuration parameters) via the cloud805, for example. For example, a cloud server 850, other network device,global positioning device, etc., can provide location-basedconfiguration information (e.g., communication channel, geographicregion, etc.) to a networked device. Additionally, media content (e.g.,audio, video, etc.) can be shared among the system 800, for example.Automated determination and configuration is described in further detailbelow.

In certain embodiments, a wireless network (e.g., network 805, 810, 820)can include a plurality of networking devices such as media playbackdevices (e.g., a zone player, wireless speaker, wireless-enabledtelevision, and so on), wireless handheld devices (e.g., a mobile musicplayer such as an IPOD™, a smartphone such as an IPHONE™, a tabletcomputer such as an IPAD™, and so on), access points, bridges, etc. Incertain embodiments, the wireless network may be a mesh network, anaccess point network, etc.

1. Example Region Configuration

Certain embodiments automatically determine location and configureregion parameters for a playback device in a playback system while thedevice is in use. In these embodiments, neither human intervention by auser nor region-specific configuration setting done at a factorydistributor is required.

A location of a device (for example, a PLAY:5 or PLAY:3) can bedetermined by a sensor, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS)embedded in the playback device. If the device has such functionality,then the region setting can be set automatically when the device bootsup and determines its location, for example. For example, the playbackdevice may connect to a GPS satellite and/or nearby ground relay (e.g.,cellular tower) to determine its location.

Alternatively, if the device does not have global positioningfunctionality but is connected to a network, such as the Internet, thelocation may be determined remotely by a cloud-based service that candetermine in which geographic location (e.g., country) the unit is beingoperated based on its IP address, for example. For example, a playbackdevice may communicate with a computer on which a user is runningplayback controller software to obtain location-based settinginformation.

In certain embodiments, if the playback device is being added to anexisting network, then the device may inherit region setting(s) fromother products already using that network. For example, a playbackdevice interacting with a bridge or other playback device to gain accessto a local playback network can receive region setting information inaddition to other network configuration when joining the network (and/orshortly thereafter).

Once the location is determined, in some embodiments, the regionsettings can be automatically configured on the device. That is, nomanual user interaction is needed for the device to be configured basedon its current geographic region, for example. In some embodiments, thesettings for all regions (or the most common regions or some othersubset of regions, for example) can be stored locally on the device innon-volatile memory or on another similar device or local serverconnected to the wireless network.

In some embodiments, the device can retrieve settings from a cloud-basedservice based on the region, for example. The cloud-based service canhelp ensure that devices within a household have the same regionsettings, and, if necessary or desired, these settings can be updatedover time as regulatory laws, preferences, etc., change.

FIG. 9 shows a flow diagram of an example method 900 to determine alocation of a device and establish location-based setting(s) for thedevice. At block 910, a device connects to an available network. Forexample, a zone player connects to a household wireless network. Thedevice may connect to the network using default setting(s), which are tobe updated once the device has established a secure connection withother devices on the network.

At block 920, the device receives location-based settings. For example,the playback device receives a geographic region in which the network islocated which in turn triggers an adjustment in how the device isconnected to the network, facilitates content playback, etc. At block930, the received/retrieved settings are applied to the device. Forexample, the device may be configured from the default settings appliedat power-up based on the regional settings received. The device may bereconfigured based on a change of region since the last configuration,for example. At block 940, device operation is facilitated according tothe updated settings. For example, the device may communicate with acontent provider, other playback device, controller, etc., to receivecontent and/or playlist information for playback, etc.

FIG. 10 illustrates a flow diagram of a more specific example method1000 to determine region settings and reconfigure a zone playerappropriately. At block 1010, the zone player connects to an availablewireless network using default settings (e.g., factory defaults). Forexample, the zone player may exchange connection information (e.g., asecurity parameter) with a device already on the network to connect tothe network.

At block 1020, the zone player identifies a geographic region in whichit is operating. For example, using GPS, information from another deviceon the network, an Internet connection, etc., the zone player identifiesa geographic region in which it is currently located. At block 1030,settings for the identified region are determined. For example, regionparameters may include radio spectrum, wireless channel, bit rate,encoding, transmit power, security mechanisms, and so on.

At block 1040, the region settings are compared to the default settingsof the zone player to determine whether the network settings of the zoneplayer are to be changed. If yes, then, at block 1050, network settingsfor the zone player are reconfigured based on the determined regionsettings. At block 1060, playback and control of content on the networkis facilitated via the zone player.

2. Example Channel Selection

In certain embodiments, challenges of channel selection in a meshnetwork can be overcome by collecting data on a current operatingchannel, other possible wireless channels, music dropout rate, packeterror rate, and so on, and uploading this data to a cloud-based and/orother networked server periodically and/or based on a trigger, forexample. In certain embodiments, data can be pushed or pulled. Thecloud-based server runs various algorithms or heuristics and can directa zone player in a household to initiate a channel change for thehousehold. Thus, in certain embodiments, processing on the zone playeris limited to data collection, data uploading, and performing thechannel change, for example. Other processing and analysis is performedon the cloud/network server. In certain embodiments, in addition toand/or instead of channel selection, algorithm(s)/heuristic(s) can beevaluated to adjust a variety of parameters such as bit rate, transmitpower, network topology, etc.

Using a cloud-based server provides increased processing power andmemory over an individual playback device to execute algorithms and/orevaluate heuristics to determine channel selection, etc. Algorithms andheuristics can be on the cloud server without rolling out new firmwareon the zone players, for example. Testing can be limited to a fewhouseholds to assess algorithms, for example. An algorithm can be rolledout gradually to a limited number of households at a time, for example.

Certain embodiments provide access to raw data for examination (asopposed to the data being only in a zone player's memory). Using thecloud server, sufficient storage can be provided to maintain a historyof channel usage per household (if desired) so that a user can assessprevious decisions over a long period of time to help judgeeffectiveness, for example.

Alternatively, customer support can remotely configure a networkparameter such as channel selection. As such, similar processing mayoccur as described above, but instead of automatically configuring thenetwork system, the process allows for a customer support individual tomanually configure the device via a remote location, for example.

In certain embodiments, wireless network parameters can be automaticallyconfigured in a mesh network using a cloud server without userintervention. For example, network data is collected by playback devices(e.g., zone players) and periodically sent to a cloud server foranalysis. Wireless network parameters that may be configured via thecloud server include wireless channel, bit rate, transmit power, etc. Incertain embodiments, a wireless network topology may be reconfigured viathe cloud server.

In certain embodiments, network configuration can include a spanningtree protocol. A spanning tree protocol refers to a network protocolthat structures a network to avoid bridge loops by, in general, 1)designating a root node, 2) calculating the least cost path from othernodes to the root node, and 3) disabling other paths. A playback devicesuch as zone player 400, 700 may advantageously use a spanning treeprotocol to communicate with satellite zone players and/or other zoneplayers in a mesh network. The use of spanning tree protocol enables thedelivery of low-latency audio by determining shortest paths betweenpoints and by reducing (e.g., avoiding) unnecessary hops of thelow-latency audio data between zone players. An example spanning treeprotocol configuration may be a spanning tree protocol table (e.g.,stored in the memory 410) that includes the ports and/or devices towhich the example zone player 400, 700 is connected. The examplespanning tree protocol table can be reconfigured when additional zoneplayers are added, zone player location is changed, and/or whenconfigurations of zone players are changed, for example. For networksusing the spanning tree protocol, a root of the spanning tree may bere-assigned by the cloud server.

FIG. 11 shows a flow diagram of an example method 1100 to collect datato send to a cloud server to determine wireless network settings. Atblock 1110, data is collected. For example, one or more zone players ona network can collect network data (e.g., network configurationparameters, network activity, network conditions, etc.).

At block 1120, the collected data is sent to a cloud server. Forexample, a zone player can periodically and/or on demand (e.g., based ona request, a trigger, a detected change in network data, etc.) transmitthe collected data to the cloud server. For example, in response to thecollected data from the zone player, the cloud server analyzes the dataaccording to one or more rules, thresholds, algorithms, heuristics,preferences, etc. Based on the analysis, the cloud server selects orotherwise determines wireless network settings for the zone player.

At block 1130, wireless network settings are received from the cloudserver. For example, the cloud server can transmit the selected wirelessnetwork settings to one or more zone players on a requesting localnetwork. At block 1140, a determination is made regarding whethernetwork settings are to be changed. For example, the zone player maydetermine whether the received settings differ from existing settings onthe zone player. If yes, then, at block 1150, network settings arereconfigured. The process can then repeat by collected data at block1110, for example.

VI. Conclusion

As discussed above, systems and methods are provided to offer wirelessplayback content via a local wireless network while adapting to regionaland/or other network constraints. Certain embodiments provide automatedlocation determination in conjunction with configuration of a mediaplayback device for playback via a local wireless network based at leastin part on regional configuration information (e.g., wireless channel,bit rate, transmit power, encoding, etc.). Certain embodiments provideautomated collection of network information by a media playback devicefor transmission to an external source (e.g., another playback device,cloud-based server, etc.) which in turn provides network configurationinformation back to the media playback device.

In certain embodiments, a method includes automatically determining,without user intervention, a geographic region location of a playbackdevice connected to a network. The example method includes configuring,at the playback device, network parameters for wireless connection andcommunication by the playback device to the network based onconfiguration information associated with the determined geographicregion. The example method includes enabling communication by theplayback device via the network.

In certain embodiments, a method includes collecting, by a playbackdevice, data relating to wireless performance of a local wirelessnetwork to which the playback device is connected. The example methodincludes transmitting, by the playback device without user intervention,a first message to a network server, the first message including thedata relating to wireless performance of the local wireless network. Theexample method includes receiving, at the playback device, a secondmessage from the network server including wireless network parametersfor the playback device on the local wireless network. The examplemethod includes initiating, by the playback device, reconfiguration ofthe local wireless network based on the received wireless networkparameters.

In certain embodiments, a media playback device includes a controlinterface to receive and process, at the media playback device, networkconfiguration information for a local network from an external source.The example control interface is to receive and process the networkconfiguration from the external source without requiring userintervention. The example media playback device includes a wirelessinterface to communicate with the local network based at least in parton the network configuration information. The example media playbackdevice includes a speaker to output audio based on audio informationreceived via the local network.

The description discloses various example systems, methods, apparatus,and articles of manufacture including, among other components, firmwareand/or software executed on hardware. However, such examples are merelyillustrative and should not be considered as limiting. For example, itis contemplated that any or all of these firmware, hardware, and/orsoftware components can be embodied exclusively in hardware, exclusivelyin software, exclusively in firmware, or in any combination of hardware,software, and/or firmware. Accordingly, while the following describesexample systems, methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture, theexamples provided are not the only way(s) to implement such systems,methods, apparatus, and/or articles of manufacture.

Additionally, reference herein to “embodiment” means that a particularfeature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with theembodiment can be included in at least one example embodiment of theinvention. The appearances of this phrase in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment,nor are separate or alternative embodiments mutually exclusive of otherembodiments. As such, the embodiments described herein, explicitly andimplicitly understood by one skilled in the art, can be combined withother embodiments.

The specification is presented largely in terms of illustrativeenvironments, systems, procedures, steps, logic blocks, processing, andother symbolic representations that directly or indirectly resemble theoperations of data processing devices coupled to networks. These processdescriptions and representations are typically used by those skilled inthe art to most effectively convey the substance of their work to othersskilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth to provide athorough understanding of the present disclosure. However, it isunderstood to those skilled in the art that certain embodiments of thepresent disclosure can be practiced without certain, specific details.In other instances, well known methods, procedures, components, andcircuitry have not been described in detail to avoid unnecessarilyobscuring aspects of the embodiments. Accordingly, the scope of thepresent disclosure is defined by the appended claims rather than theforgoing description of embodiments.

When any of the appended claims are read to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the elements in at leastone example is hereby expressly defined to include a tangible mediumsuch as a memory, DVD, CD, Blu-ray, and so on, storing the softwareand/or firmware.

1. A playback device, comprising: at least one wireless networkinterface configured to facilitate communication over at least one datanetwork; at least one processor; a non-transitory computer-readablemedium; configuration settings including a factory-set defaultconfiguration setting stored on the non-transitory computer-readablemedium; and program instructions stored on the non-transitorycomputer-readable medium that are executable by the at least oneprocessor such that the playback device is configured to: whileoperating in accordance with the configuration settings including thefactory-set default configuration setting, connect to a first wirelessnetwork via the at least one wireless network interface; obtain, via thefirst wireless network, from an external device, information indicativeof a geographic region in which the playback device is located from aplurality of geographic regions, wherein each of the plurality ofgeographic regions comprises at least one country; determine thegeographic region in which the playback device is located based on theobtained information indicative of the geographic region in which theplayback device is located; based on the determined geographic region inwhich the playback device is located, update at least one of theconfiguration settings including an update to the factory-set defaultconfiguration setting; and while operating in accordance with theupdated configuration settings: receive audio content over a secondwireless network; and play back audio associated with the received audiocontent in synchrony with at least one other playback device connectedto the second wireless network.
 2. The playback device of claim 1,wherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least oneprocessor such that the playback device is configured to obtain theinformation indicative of the geographic region in which the playbackdevice is located comprise program instructions that are executable bythe at least one processor such that the playback device is configuredto: obtain, from the external device, an indication of at least oneInternet Protocol (IP) address associated with the playback device. 3.The playback device of claim 2, wherein the program instructions thatare executable by the at least one processor such that the playbackdevice is configured to determine the geographic region in which theplayback device is located comprise program instructions that areexecutable by the at least one processor such that the playback deviceis configured to: determine the geographic region in which the playbackdevice is located based on the at least one IP address associated withthe playback device.
 4. The playback device of claim 1, wherein theprogram instructions that are executable by the at least one processorsuch that the playback device is configured to update the at least oneof the configuration settings comprise program instructions that areexecutable by the at least one processor such that the playback deviceis configured to: obtain at least one new configuration setting from atleast one cloud-based server via the first wireless network.
 5. Theplayback device of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of geographicregions has respective regulatory requirements for wireless devices andwherein the program instructions that are executable by the at least oneprocessor such that the playback device is configured to update the atleast one of the configuration settings comprise program instructionsthat are executable by the at least one processor such that the playbackdevice is configured to: update the at least one of the configurationsettings to comply with the respective regulatory requirements of thedetermined geographic region.
 6. The playback device of claim 1, furthercomprising program instructions that are executable by the at least oneprocessor such that the playback device is configured to: before playingback the audio associated with the received audio content in synchronywith the at least one other playback device, transmit at least oneconfiguration setting from the updated configuration settings to the atleast one other playback device via the second wireless network.
 7. Theplayback device of claim 1, wherein the external device comprises one ofa cloud-based server or a computing device connected to the firstwireless network.
 8. The playback device of claim 1, wherein theconfiguration settings comprise at least one of: a network configurationsetting, a group configuration setting, or a content playbackconfiguration setting.
 9. The playback device of claim 8, wherein theconfiguration settings comprise the network configuration setting andwherein the network configuration setting is one of: a wireless channelsetting, a wireless transmit power setting, or a bitrate setting. 10.The playback device of claim 1, wherein the first wireless network isthe same as the second wireless network.
 11. A method implemented by aplayback device comprising configuration settings including afactory-set default configuration setting stored on a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium, the method comprising: while operating inaccordance with the configuration settings including the factory-setdefault configuration setting, connecting to a first wireless network;obtaining, via the first wireless network, from an external device,information indicative of a geographic region in which the playbackdevice is located from a plurality of geographic regions, wherein eachof the plurality of geographic regions comprises at least one country;determining the geographic region in which the playback device islocated based on the obtained information indicative of the geographicregion in which the playback device is located; based on the determinedgeographic region in which the playback device is located, updating atleast one of the configuration settings including an update to thefactory-set default configuration setting; and while operating inaccordance with the updated configuration settings: receiving audiocontent over a second wireless network; and playing back audioassociated with the received audio content in synchrony with at leastone other playback device connected to the second wireless network. 12.The method of claim 11, wherein obtaining the information indicative ofthe geographic region in which the playback device is located comprises:obtaining, from the external device, an indication of at least oneInternet Protocol (IP) address associated with the playback device. 13.The method of claim 12, wherein determining the geographic region inwhich the playback device is located comprises: determining thegeographic region in which the playback device is located based on theat least one IP address associated with the playback device.
 14. Themethod of claim 11, wherein updating the at least one of theconfiguration settings comprises: obtaining at least one configurationsetting associated with the geographic region from at least onecloud-based server via the first wireless network.
 15. The method ofclaim 11, wherein each of the plurality of geographic regions hasrespective regulatory requirements for wireless devices and whereinupdating the at least one of the configuration settings comprises:updating the at least one of the configuration settings to comply withthe respective regulatory requirements of the determined geographicregion.
 16. The method of claim 11, further comprising: before playingback the audio associated with the received audio content in synchronywith at least one other playback device, transmitting at least oneconfiguration setting from the updated configuration settings to the atleast one other playback device via the second wireless network.
 17. Anon-transitory computer-readable medium comprising configurationsettings including a factory-set default configuration setting andprogram instructions that are executable by at least one processor suchthat a playback device is configured to: while operating in accordancewith the configuration settings including the factory-set defaultconfiguration setting, connect to a first wireless network; obtain, viathe first wireless network, from an external device, informationindicative of a geographic region in which the playback device islocated from a plurality of geographic regions, wherein each of theplurality of geographic regions comprises at least one country;determine the geographic region in which the playback device is locatedbased on the obtained information indicative of the geographic region inwhich the playback device is located; based on the determined geographicregion in which the playback device is located, update at least one ofthe configuration settings including an update to the factory-setdefault configuration setting; and while operating in accordance withthe updated configuration settings: receive audio content over a secondwireless network; and play back audio associated with the received audiocontent in synchrony with at least one other playback device connectedto the second wireless network.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 17, wherein the program instructions that are executableby the at least one processor such that the playback device isconfigured to obtain the information indicative of the geographic regionin which the playback device is located comprise program instructionsthat are executable by the at least one processor such that the playbackdevice is configured to: obtain, from the external device, an indicationof at least one Internet Protocol (IP) address associated with theplayback device.
 19. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 18, wherein the program instructions that are executable by the atleast one processor such that the playback device is configured todetermine the geographic region in which the playback device is locatedcomprise program instructions that are executable by the at least oneprocessor such that the playback device is configured to: determine thegeographic region in which the playback device is located based on theat least one IP address associated with the playback device.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17, wherein the programinstructions that are executable by the at least one processor such thatthe playback device is configured to update the at least one of theconfiguration settings comprise program instructions that are executableby the at least one processor such that the playback device isconfigured to: obtain at least one configuration setting associated withthe geographic region from at least one cloud-based server via the firstwireless network.